Thomas A. Sargent

Academic Biography:A 1985 graduate with a BA in Biological Sciences, Dr. Sargent currently is an Associate Professor of Educational Studies at his undergraduate alma mater. In addition to his BA from Monmouth College, he holds a MA in Educational Administration from Eastern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As an educator, Dr. Sargent has instructed diverse student populations in biological and physical sciences, as well as methods of curriculum and instruction for pre-service teacher candidates. This has required collaboratively formulating course structures, content, and requirements; facilitating student learning and the transfer of knowledge; designing authentic and standardized assessments; and administrating student feedback and grades.

Dr. Sargent has expertise in conducting a wide array of outreach, evaluation, and research activities in the areas of professional development and contextual teaching and learning. His three years as Director and Principal Investigator for TeachNET: A Professional Development Network for Contextual Teaching and Learning (a contract funded through the United States Department of Education) provided him with significant experience, knowledge, and insight into the unique challenges facing educators as they engage in professional development activities and the transfer of knowledge in educational settings.

In addition to his years as an educator, Dr. Sargent has 6 years of retail management experience. In this capacity, he supervised personnel and retail financial operations in excess of 1.5 million annually as a store manager while having responsibility for facilitating 100+ team members through daily operations and the achievement of long term sales and productivity goals through the use of a collaborative management style.